On the Pragmatic Function of Euphemism in Vanity Fair

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【Abstract】Euphemism is a common phenomenon in our daily communication. Without euphemism， people can’t achieve successful conversation. As there are some customs and taboo in different country， we use euphemism to avoid embarrassment and unhappiness. Vanity Fair is a masterpiece written by William Makepeace Thackeray in 19th century. Combing euphemism with the famous novel could deepen the understanding of the pragmatic function of euphemism as well as appreciating literature work from a new sight. This thesis tries to research the pragmatic function of euphemism in vanity fair. Firstly， it introduces some fundamental knowledge about euphemism. Then， it offers a brief introduction to the novel and its author. Finally， it analyzes case study of the pragmatic function of euphemism in Vanity Fair

【Key words】euphemism； pragmatic function； Vanity Fair

1. Introduction

Euphemism is a common phenomenon in our daily communication. As there are some customs and taboo in different country， we use euphemism to avoid embarrassment and unhappiness. Euphemism embodies that the language is restrained by culture background and identity who we are talking with. Euphemism is the natural production of human communication. The expression of euphemism varies from different situations， environment and the people who we face with. It also keeps pace with the times. The development of social history always promotes the changing and adapting of euphemism， which makes euphemism become one of the most intensively studies of language communication. Many linguists have made a contribution in this field. According to Rawson （1981）， euphemism will be classified into two types： positive euphemism and negative euphemism from the perspective of semantics. From the pragmatic function， euphemism could be mainly divided into five groups： replacement of taboo words， to avoid vulgar， to show politeness， to disguise and to be ironic. Many researches have concentrated on the definition of euphemism or its classification， few concerns about observing euphemism under concrete example in literature.

2. Some fundamental knowledge about euphemism

Euphemism contributes to achieve successful communication. It is an important part of sociolinguistics as well as a dispensable section in social culture. Wide use and extensive attention of euphemism make it deserve to study. Etymologically， the word “euphemism” originates from Greek. The morpheme “eu” means “good” or “well” and the root “pheme” has a meaning of “speech” or “saying”. So in general， euphemism could be defined as the use of a word which is thought to be less offensive or unpleasant than other word.

As a significant and popular linguistic term， many scholars have given different definitions respectively. The first one who took euphemism as a term was an English writer， in the early 1580s， George Blunt who defined it as “a good or favorable interpretation of a bad word.” Then Hugh Rawson， the author of a Dictionary of Euphemism and Other Double-talk thought it as “mild， agreeable， or roundabout words used in place of coarse， painful， or offensive ones（Rawson，1981：1）.” Although different scholars explain euphemism in different ways， they have a common point that euphemism avoids unpleasant expressions by using mild and indirect words. The more clearly we know what euphemism is， the more fluently we communicate with each other.

Euphemism is used in our daily life. So it is entwined closely with pragmatic. Studying the pragmatic function of euphemism improves the efficiency of conversation. Five pragmatic functions of euphemism， namely the function of avoiding taboo， the function of avoiding vulgar， and the function of being polite， the function of disguising， and the function of being ironic will be reviewed later.

The positive function includes three parts. Firstly， as we know， euphemism is very close to taboo and could be tracked back to verbal taboo. People created euphemism in order to avoiding taboo. Then， nowadays people become more and more courteous. In social situations， vulgar language will reflect low quality and leave a bad image to other person involved in the conversation. At last， politeness is the best evidence of human civilization. Being polite can make people involved in the conversation feel comfortable and willing to continue the conversation. Furthermore， the function of being polite could associate with Leech’s （1983） Politeness Principle in which he pointed out how politeness operates in conversation exchanges. The negative function includes two parts. The one is the function of disguising which refers to disguise some disgusting truth and use a milder word to cover the awkward real situation. The other one is the function of being ironic. Euphemism can be used not only to please others but also hurt the person who you are talking with tactfully. Euphemism will work if someone wants to irony others indirectly. Many literature works use euphemism for the function of being ironic. Author will give some examples in the following part.

3. About the literature work Vanity Fair and its author

William Makepeace Thackeray， as one of the British critical realism writer has won a high admiration in 19th century and his most famous novel is Vanity Fair which is also a mirror of his own life. Marx gave him a high praise： “his works are very profound， his description of the general mood and human feelings of the bourgeois society is sharp and penetrating.”

Vanity Fair is the classic novel published in 1848 and written by William Makepeace Thackeray， which portrays an image of British bourgeois and aristocratic society of the 19th century. The main story is the epitome of the early 19th-century Britain. “It follows the lives of two different women， Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley， amid their friends and family.” （http：///） It describes the protagonist， a cunning young woman， using various strategies even sex seduction to curry favor with the powerful families by hook or by crock. Unlike many novels which are imaginary， Vanity Fair is very close to the real world which is very ruthless and cruel. The obvious gap between rich and poor in society makes everyone being realistic. No one in the novel is fully innocent with highly moral standard and good quality. They all have their own weakness and baseness， even the gentlest woman， Amelia.

4. Application of the pragmatic function of euphemism in Vanity Fair.

The pragmatic function includes five parts. Each function will follow some examples which are the words， discourses or dialogues in Vanity Fair. A deeper analysis will also be given below these instances.

4.1 The function of avoiding taboo in Vanity Fair

After the appearance of taboo for psychological reasons， euphemism is created in order to substitute for it. “When a taboo word is abandoned， people have t find another word to fill up the vacancy. That’s the way euphemism is created.” （Ullmann， 1962：205）

Example

（1） He scarcely knew a single soul in the metropolis and were it not for his doctor， and the society of his blue-pill， and his liver complaint， he must have died of loneliness，

（Chapter 3 P21）

When William Thackeray is describing Joseph’s life in India， he mentions that he got a hepatopathy and was lucky to back to Europe for treat. Here， Thackeray use “liver complaint” rather than “liver disease” for that “disease” is a taboo word in English culture. “Disease” will cause pain and death， especially at the time， when medicine was not as advanced. People wish to be health and energetic all the time. So “disease” is avoided in these sentences. “Disease” is too serious and “complaint” sounds milder and gives others a feeling that the illness will heal soon. “Liver complaint” used here may express the social background in English when people unable to cure some serious disease and want to stay healthy forever.

4.2 The function of avoiding vulgar in Vanity Fair

People always desire a civilized world so that proper conduct and phrases is necessary for people in formal occasion. Vulgar language destroys the harmony of talk and is usually avoided by speakers.

Example 3

There is a conversation between Miss Pinkerton and Miss Jemima in the beginning of the novel.

“The girls were up at four this morning， pack her trunks， sister” replied Miss Jemima： “we have made her a bow-pot”

“Say a bouquet， sister Jemima， ’tis more genteel.”

（chapter1 P3）

The situation is that Amelia is going to leave the school， Miss Pinkerton and her assistant Miss Jemima are preparing for the girls’ leaving. Miss Jemima uses “bow-pot” to express a bunch of flowers， however， Miss Pinkerton thinks the language Jemima using is vulgar and coarse. So she reminds Jemima using a more genteel one. In this example， “bouquet” is used as a euphemism to replace the word “bow-pot” for the reason that Miss Pinkerton is a serious governess and believes herself educated and well-mannered. In her eyes， she can’t bear any vulgar language. In this novel， she represents， in such epoch， a schoolmistress who not only fawns upon the rich and powerful persons， but also has an exaggerated sense of his own education and status. The more formal word “bouquet” here exactly accords with the characteristic of Miss Pinkerton and deepens the serious image of Miss Pinkerton in reader’s heart.

4.3 The function of being polite in Vanity Fair

Being polite is basic element of a successful communication. If the speaker is polite to the hearer， the hearer will feel respected and willing to keep on conversing with the speaker.

Example 4

In music， in dancing， in orthography， in every variety of embroidery and needlework， she will be found to have realized her friend’ fondest wishes. In geography there is still much to be desired；

（Chapter 1 P4）

This is the excerpt from the letter that Miss Pinkerton writes to Mrs. Sedley. She praises Amelia’s talent in music， dancing and so on. However， she dissatisfies with her performance in geography. She does not express dissatisfaction directly but use a euphemistic way to convey the message. There may be two reasons for her to use euphemism. Firstly， Miss Pinkerton is trying to be polite accorded with her status. Another is that Miss Pinkerton wants to be polite to Mrs. Sedley because of Mr. Sedley is rich and enjoys a reputation. She knows if she says that Amelia is bad at geography straightly， Mrs.， Sedley will be angry at her， which will influence her teaching career and reputation. Her action of using euphemism totally corresponds to the social background and her characteristic.

4.4 The function of disguising in Vanity Fair

Occasionally， euphemism plays a role in disguise the truth that is too disgusting to accept by the hearer. Using a more euphemistic expression to cover the ugly fact could lessen the discomfort to the hearer.

Example 6

“You don’t suppose that I’m going， Mrs.Sed？” said her husband， “and that a woman of your years and size is to catch cold. In such an abominable damp place？”

“The children must have someone with them.” Cried Mrs. Sedley.

“Let Joe go，” said his father， laughing. “He’s big enough.”

（Chapter 4 P29）

This is the conversation between Mrs. Sedley and Mr. Sedley. They are talking about the sightseeing to Vauxhall. Mrs. Sedley wants to company with the girls. Then Mr. Sed disagrees with her idea， he suggests Joseph to be the companion and teases his son’s figure tactfully. He uses the word “big” rather than “fat” on account of disguising. Comparing with “fat”， “big” is more tactful because Joseph sounds might and powerful with the word “big”. Mr. Sed knows that if he uses “fat” will hurt Joseph’s feeling， the word “big” can not only highlights the atmosphere but also cares Joseph’s emotion need. He has totally considered the characteristic of his son who has a sense of inferiority and vanity. Also， he implies that Joseph could protect the girls and Mrs. Sedley needn’t go with them.

4.5 The function of being ironic in Vanity Fair

Euphemism sometimes comes out， when the speaker detests the hearer or the hearer’s opinion but don’t want to express his or her feeling directly. So the speaker will use a negative euphemism to imply his or her antipathy. This function may often be seen in literature work to make a sense of drama.

Example 8

“I marry her！” dobbin said， blushing very much， and talking quick. if you are so ready， young ladies， to chop and change， do you suppose that she is？ Laugh and sneer at that angel. She can’t hear it： and she’s miserable and unfortunate， and deserves to be laughed at. Go on joking. Ann. You’re the wit of the family， and the others like to hear it.

（Chapter 18 P172）

When Miss Ann asks sarcastically about whether dobbin will marry Amelia. Dobbin feels quite angry for Amelia is such a good girl in his heart and he loves her so much that he won’t allow anybody to insult her. However， he is a gentleman and his opponent is a girl. So he can’t condemn her directly. He uses euphemism to irony Miss Ann and he says“You’re the wit of the family， and the others like to hear it.” Seemingly， it is a highly appreciation for Miss Ann .however， in fact It is not a praise， his really meaning is that： Miss Ann， you are very stupid， no one likes hear you talking. In this case， not only Miss Ann can understand that he is condemning her， but dobbin does keep his identity and politeness. The use of euphemism here is not to protect Miss Ann’s face but to scold her in a ironic way.

5. The significance of this thesis

As to euphemism is so important in our daily conversation and linguistic study， we can’t communicate without it. Therefore， it is urging for us to figure out its using rule and environment. Vanity Fair by William Thackeray is a famous realistic novel in English literature， with its own characteristics of the times. The significance of this thesis rests on providing a new sight to observe euphemism and the novel， Vanity Fair .it can be classified into two parts.

On the one hand， different types of euphemism could connect with different elements in Vanity Fair， Such as feminism， sarcastic goals or social background. The contribution that euphemism makes to sharp characters and achieve sarcastic goals will be revealed. Author selects authentic detailed data to explore the influence that euphemism in Vanity Fair impacts to the environment and character’s characteristics. The thesis expects to discover that how the novel is written under the guidance of euphemism， specifically， the perspective； pragmatic function is taken into consideration. To sum up this will enrich the combination researches of linguistic and literature.

On the other hand， the thesis concentrates on studying euphemism in a specific novel and classifies euphemism clearly from the facet： pragmatic function， which provide a possibility that people can not only communicate more easily and fluent， but also make clear the implied meaning when the vague euphemism occurs in a conversation. What’s more， by appreciating the words， discourses and dialogues in Vanity Fair， the detailed case study could improve our daily communication with the guidance of the pragmatic function of euphemism.

In conclusion， studying the use of euphemism in Vanity Fair could promote mutual understanding in a conversation through distinguishing the pragmatic function of euphemism in concrete examples as well as discover the effect that euphemism has produced on the shape of characters in Vanity Fair. One step further， this provides a way to show that how does linguistics apply to literature.

6. Conclusion

In Vanity Fair， Thackeray shows various figures with different characteristics. Many roles in the novel are trying to purse status and wealth without scruple. This thesis analyzes the pragmatic of euphemism in Vanity Fair. The major subject is to find out whether euphemism will influence the shape of the character and how euphemism is used in Vanity Fair. The author gives some examples to each pragmatic function of euphemism from Vanity Fair. And through the deeper examination of these examples， it is clear that there are certain connections between euphemism and the shape of character’s characteristic. It embodies in detail and influences the shape of characters. What’s more， it also deepens the topic of the novel. The pragmatic function of euphemism is totally according with the characters themselves and reflects the social background. The hidden intention and personality will be revealed by using euphemism. Although studying the pragmatic function of euphemism has provided a new sight for euphemism and Vanity Fair， there are still many places needed to be perfected. The further research may not be limited in one novel.

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